Hans Kruger, who suspended himself from his post as Refugees Minister pending an investigation into charges of a past career as a Nazi judge, has almost no chance to get the post back, informed sources here asserted today.
Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, who chose Kruger for the post, ordered an investigation last week after Kruger admitted the accuracy of some of the charges raised against him by East German and Soviet sources. The charges were listed in documents published by East German officials after Kruger insistently denied them.
The documents indicated that Kruger was a judge of a “special court” in what is now Chojoice, Poland, during the occupation. The special courts were known for their severe treatment of the conquered people. Kruger said, after the documents were published in a West German weekly, that his service with the Nazi court had completely slipped his memory.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
